Kaka D. Iralu
At the outset, allow me to begin with a short introduction of Naga history and country. Nagaland, surrounded by gigantic mountains and thick tropical forests, remained an unknown country to the rest of the world for many centuries. But through out all those silent years, every hilltop village was a sovereign independent republics inhabited by fierce warriors who defended their sovereign ties with their daos and spears against any foreign intrusions into their lands. This spirited defense of their lands was finally shattered by the European British Imperial Power when Khonoma was finally defeated by more than 3000 British troops in 1880. Beginning from 1932, Khonoma village alone fought four wars with the British defying their power for 46 intermittent years.
However, Khonoma’s defeat was not the end of Naga resistance against foreign aggression. Even as late as 1947, other Naga tribes continued to defy the British occupation of their lands. This spirited defense of their ancestral lands was so resolute that on the departure of the British from their South Asian empire in 1947, only 30% of over one hundred thousand square km. of Naga country came under British administration. British historians record these battles with the Naga tribes as “extra ordinary obstinacy” which outnumbered all of India’s North West frontier wars. (Encyclopedia Britanica, 11th Ed, Vol.19 p.150) Indeed, this Naga defense of Naga country for 115 years (1832-1947) in a sense saved Asia’s face in her hour of humiliation when the Orient was prostrated by the Occident from the 16th to the 20th centuries through colonization.
This proud Naga people today welcomes all these European dignitaries to their ancestral lands. However, along with our welcome, we also wish to reiterate that ever since your departure from your South Asian empire, we Nagas along with many other ethnic groups of North East India and adjacent South Asia have suffered terrible atrocities under the occupational troops of the Burmese and Indian Governments that you helped to set up way back in 1947. On your departure, our ancient lands were dissected and mutilated into Burma and India. In the subsequent self defense war against India and Burma, hundreds and thousands of Nagas have died from bullets, bombs and artillery shells that you left behind with the two nations that you helped build yesterday. Hundreds upon thousands died from starvation and disease as over 700 Naga villages along with all their granaries were burnt to ashes from the 1950’s to the 1960’s by the invasion troops. Yes, in this sixty two years protracted war, ours has been a story of blood and tears ever since you abandoned us to a fate we believe you clearly foresaw but chose to ignore.
So as you tour our beloved country, please walk with reverence for the dead because our lands are blood soaked lands. The exterior developmental works that you will see have all been built by India’s money and we are grateful to India for this. But we hope you will also lend your ears to our cries of agony as you interact with our people during your short stay. Please listen to our side of the story too. God bless all of you and may all of you go back to your own countries with fond memories of Nagaland.
